The media office of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia North Senatorial Zone has responded to a political group, Abia Rejoice, over the attraction of the Uturu-Akara road in Abia North Senatorial zone.
The group, in a long article on Saturday, narrated how their principal, Dr. Uche Ogah, attracted the ongoing Uturu-Akara road construction in Abia North through a letter written and addressed to former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.
While appreciating the former minister's efforts towards the road project, as sighted in the letters he wrote in 2019, Kalu's media office, in a statement signed by Emmanuel Godswill and made available to newsmen on Sunday, explained that Kalu made a case for the road in 2022.
"If the roads were considered as duly requested by the former minister, it could have featured in the 2019 budget, 2020 or even 2021 budget. Until yesterday, the letters the former minister wrote were unknown to the action senator, as he was neither notified nor copied in the letter," the media office said.
The statement reads:
"We appreciate Dr. Uche Sampson Ogah for the letter he shared on the internet through Abia Rejoice concerning Uturu-Akara road. The idea behind writing the letter to the former president in 2019 was for the good of Abia North, and we commend him for his good concern.
However, writing letters could not get the job done, as appropriation of such projects transcends beyond mere letters. The letters shared by Abia Rejoice bear 2019, and if the letters were acted upon as claimed, it would have appeared in 2019 budgets but never did; not even in 2020 or 2021.
For the purpose of clarification to the good people of Abia North, Senator Kalu is not in contest with anyone on the issues bordering attraction of infrastructure to Abia state and Abia North in particular. He appreciates and applauds all efforts and is personally thankful to the former minister for the efforts he made through his letters.
Senator Kalu's projects intervention drive is so conspicuous that it gave him outstanding validation beyond Abia-North, and this has been proven beginning from his first term in office, which earned him twice in a row the award on "constituency development" and "Overall Best Senator in Constituency Projects and Human Relations Award".
Kalu pursued two roads simultaneously from the federal government in 2022, and these two roads were Uturu-Akara road and Ini Local government of Akwa Ibom state-Itumbuzo-Bende road. The four major players whose support made the roads a success today were Senator Chris Ekpenyong of Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial zone, Senator Adamu Aliero, who was Senate Committee Chairman on Works, Babatunde Fashola, former minister of works, and former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Senator Kalu held a private meeting with Fashola and Aliero over the two roads. The minister had insisted that the roads are state government roads, adding that the ministry is particular about federal roads.
Not relenting, Senator Kalu approached the then-President Muhammadu Buhari and explained to him how the Uturu-Akara and Bende-Itumbuzo roads had turned into the kidnapping hub of Abia North due to their terrible conditions. He made the President understand that waiting for the state government to take care of the roads would take longer, and pleaded with him to consider the road for the sake of his constituency.
When Kalu said in the live video that it was a parting gift from the former President Buhari, it was indeed a parting gift, as the president directed that the road be considered for budgetary purposes, and that was exactly how the two roads were appropriated through the Ministry of Works in the 2022/2023 budget.
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